This weekend at the movies, we have Tom Cruise racking up some seriously ill-gotten gains (American Made, co-starring Domhnall Gleeson), Ellen Page leading a group of med students (temporarily) to their deaths (Flatliners, co-starring Diego Luna), a landmark tennis match (Battle of the Sexes, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell), a group of people at an unexpected spiritual crossroads (A Question of Faith, starring Richard T. Jones and C. Thomas Howell), and Jake Gyllenhaal triumphing over adversity (Stronger, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany). What are the critics saying?
Tom Cruise has scored hits in a variety of genres, but audiences have always loved him best when he’s playing to the type that made him famous: a rakishly charming good guy, with just enough of a cocky rogue’s personality to allow for some fun one-liners and an interesting character development arc.
American Made, which reunites Cruise with his
Edge of Tomorrow director
Doug Liman, doesn’t quite hew to that formula — but according to critics, it comes close enough to scratch that nostalgic itch while smartly subverting a number of expectations. Cruise stars as Barry Seal, the real-life airline pilot who flipped from drug smuggler to DEA informant, and Liman (working from a script by Gary Spinelli) takes full advantage of a setup that puts the
Top Gun hero back in the cockpit and calls for all manner of toothy grinning along the way. Whether you’re after a thought-provoking real-life story or just in the mood for that vintage Cruise control, it looks like
American Made is a pretty safe bet.
The philosopher George Santayana told us that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it — words of wisdom clearly lost on Dr. Courtney Holmes (Ellen Page), who triggers the events of this weekend’s new
Flatliners by trying to perfect the death-defying experiments performed by med student Nelson Wright (Kiefer Sutherland) in the movie’s 1990 predecessor. Determined to discover what lies on the other side of life, Holmes and her cohorts follow in Wright’s footsteps… and just like before, it isn’t long until stuff starts to go supernaturally awry. Unfortunately, just as we can’t say for sure whether there’s an afterlife or tell you what might be waiting there, we’re unable to inform you whether the critics have signed off on the 2017
Flatliners, because it wasn’t screened for critics. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for those of you who head out to any
Thursday night showings; meanwhile, as we’re waiting for a consensus to develop, let’s all gather ’round for a game of Guess the Tomatometer.
It can be easy to feel discouraged about how far we have to go in terms of truly achieving equal rights for all American citizens. But we’ve also come a pretty long way — just over the last few decades — as this weekend’s
Battle of the Sexes ably attests. Inspired by the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King (played by Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), this dramedy from
Little Miss Sunshine directors
Jonathan Dayton and
Valerie Faris looks back with bemusement on the rampant sexism that produced the deep financial inequality leading to King and Riggs facing off, but it isn’t all laughs; although King won the match, a number of the issues she faced then are still with us now, and critics say
Battle draws some strong, subtle parallels between its period setting and the present day. Topping it all off are strong performances from a solid cast, led by a fearlessly buffoonish Carell and what some scribes are calling career-best work from Stone.
Whatever else you can say about
A Question of Faith, there’s no doubt that it stars this week’s most eclectic ensemble.
Facts of Life vet
Kim Fields and ’80s heartthrob
C. Thomas Howell head up the cast of this drama, in which the lives of three families collide after a series of mishaps that leave dreams in doubt and convictions tested. Actually, that
is all we can say about
A Question of Faith, because it wasn’t screened for critics. You know what that means: it’s time once more to play Guess the Tomatometer!
What’s the difference between being held up as a hero and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time? For Jeff Bauman, a 2013 Boston Marathon spectator who was among those maimed in the terrorist attack that marred the event and gripped the city in fear, there might not be much difference at all — which is what makes
Stronger, an adaptation of Bauman’s memoir starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the author, such a compelling biographical drama. Critics say that in refusing to shy away from the real-life Bauman’s flaws — or turn a blind eye to his tumultuous relationship with Erin Hurley (Tatiana Maslany), the on-again, off-again girlfriend he was at the marathon to support — the movie does its audience a service by trusting them to identify with its protagonists as recognizably human beings, not to mention giving its stars an opportunity to shine. Working from a screenplay by
John Pollono, director
David Gordon Green delivers his most affecting drama in years; even if you haven’t run a step since high school P.E.,
Stronger lives up to its name.
What’s New on TV
The Good Doctor‘s heavy-handed bedside manner undermines a solid lead performance, but under all the emotionally manipulative gimmickry, there’s still plenty of room to improve.
Also Opening This Week In Limited Release
- Window Horses (2016) , the animated adventure of a young girl whose international travels uncover uncomfortable questions about her family history, is at 100 percent.
- I Am Another You (2017) , Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang’s documentary account of her friendship with a young Florida drifter, is at 100 percent.
- White Sun (2016) , about the emotional reckoning between family members after a patriarch’s passing, is at 100 percent.
- Signature Move (2017) , a coming-of-age Muslim romance with an added dash of luchador wrestling, is at 100 percent.
- Lucky (2017) , starring Harry Dean Stanton as a man seeking enlightenment near the end of his life, is at 92 percent.
- The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (2017) , a documentary about the acclaimed work and private life of the bestselling author, is at 89 percent.
- Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives (2017) , a documentary looking back on the life and career of the renowned record executive, is at 88 percent.
- Heartstone (2016) , a coming-of-age drama focusing on two teenage boys in rural Iceland, is at 86 percent.
- Realive (2016) , a science fiction story about the first man to have his body successfully cryogenically frozen, is at 85 percent.
- Super Dark Times (2017) , a ’90s-set teen drama about two young men whose friendship is impacted by tragedy, is at 83 percent.
- Blood Stripe (2016) , about a veteran’s battle to readjust to civilian life after returning home to her family from war, is at 83 percent.
- Our Souls at Night (2017) , starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford as small-town neighbors who strike up an unexpected relationship, is at 82 percent.
- Abundant Acreage Available (2017) , starring Amy Ryan and Terry Kinney as siblings faced with a struggle for their family farm after their father dies, is at 80 percent.
- Thirst Street (2017) , in which a woman’s European adventure after the death of her significant other takes a decidedly dark turn, is at 69 percent.
- Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017) , starring Liam Neeson as the special agent who helped expose Watergate, is at 32 percent.
- Literally, Right Before Aaron (2017) , starring Justin Long as a man thrown for a loop after he learns his ex-girlfriend is getting married — and he’s invited to the wedding — is at 30 percent.
- Top Cat Begins (2015) , offering the origin story of the animated cat, is at 17 percent.
